


Like Mother, Like Son

by BunnyBob



Series: Trying to Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation) [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, sidlink - Fandom
Genre: Crying, M/M, Multi, Singing, anxiety attack, headcanons galore, sum cute shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 06:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14075145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyBob/pseuds/BunnyBob
Summary: Brivere is fairly intimidating without intending to, mainly due to an unforgiving resting bitch face matched with a spear-up-his-ass personality. He's nothing like his mother in that aspect, who was known to be soft, caring, and gentle. And while it may not seem so, Brivere and his mother actually have a lot more in common than what most Zora would expect.





	Like Mother, Like Son

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BanishedOne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BanishedOne/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Coma Baby](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10493943) by [BanishedOne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BanishedOne/pseuds/BanishedOne). 



> This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone). If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. 
> 
> I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr bunnyb0b, you can chat with me any time about anything! 
> 
> This bonus chapter was not beta read, so prepare for trash and mistakes lmao

"Dear Hylia, Brivere, you didn't show those new recruits any mercy!" Link laughed as they strolled through the halls of the barracks. "And I thought _I_ was cruel."

The golden knight scoffed. "It is my firm belief that if they intend to join the guard, then they should act like it. _They_ are the ones responsible for keeping up the wellbeing of our Domain, so I can accept nothing less than full commitment."

"Yeah, but you didn't need to make that one man cry." Link snorted.

"That is his own fault." Brivere said curtly. "If he cannot even handle a simple order from a superior, then he has no hope as a guard."

The Hylian chuckled and playfully slugged Brivere in the arm, who just rolled his golden eyes in response. "Dude, the problem is that you're WAY too intimidating." Link said with a smug grin. "The resting bitch face doesn't help either."

"I do not understand why everyone insists that I look inherently threatening." Brivere replied, lips pursing in frustration. "It is just my face. I am doing nothing to indicate otherwise."

"That's why it's called a resting-!"

Link suddenly stopped talking and whipped his head to look over his shoulder, eyes narrowing while his pointed ears twitched. Opening his mouth, Brivere tried to ask what was wrong, but was silenced when the Hylian snapped a finger up to his mouth. After a few moments of silence, Link looked back at the golden knight. "I may be wrong," the Hylian said hesitantly, "but I think I hear... crying?"

"Perhaps it is Notus, from when he couldn't handle my orders earlier." Brivere grunted.

"No, you asshole. This sounds different." Link said. Before Brivere could respond, the Hylian quickly spun around and sprinted in the opposite direction that they were previously walking at. Sighing, the golden knight lightly jogged after him, only picking up the pace when he began to hear intense screams and sobbing.

Unless Notus was severely traumatized by The Oracle Knight's instructions from that morning's trainings, something was horribly wrong.

Darting around the corner and through an entryway, Brivere found several other guards along with Link, all of them crowded in the center of the room. Wails and screams pierced the air, seemingly not coming from any of them. No one noticed his sudden entrance, as they were all completely focused on something that they were tightly surrounding.

Glancing over the guards' shoulders, Brivere caught sight of a small, black-scaled Zora girl. Tears were flooding out of her golden eyes as she smacked away any of the guards who came too close to her, screaming as if they were all Lynel's with shock arrows pointed right at her face.

"What the hell is she doing in the barracks?!" Link yelled over her screeches. The other guards quickly shrugged with wide eyes, clearly stressed and unsure of what to do. They were trained for combat, not child care, after all.

Someone entered behind Brivere and he whipped around, instinctively putting a hand on the silver scale longsword strapped onto his back. The golden knight only relaxed when he saw that it was just his prince, who was gawking at the sobbing girl. "So this was the noise! I was worried that someone was gravely injured!" Sidon cried out.

"My lord, she very well could be." Brivere said calmly. "No one can get her to stop crying and tell us what is wrong."

Cracking a wide grin, Sidon pumped a fist across his chest, showing off his signature pose. "That is alright! I can help calm her down."

As Sidon strode over to the little girl, the golden knight hesitantly fidgeted near the doorway and reached out to stop his lord. While the prince was certainly popular amongst the citizens of the Zora Domain, Brivere was uncertain if Sidon’s large stature and overwhelmingly enthusiastic personality would actually frighten the child even further.

His suspicions were confirmed when Sidon quickly plopped down in front of the girl, who was so startled by the sudden movement that she screamed. "Young one," Prince Sidon said a bit too loudly, "May you tell us what is troubling you?"

The girl paused for a second, but then a shriek ripped out of her small throat, followed by a wave of heart wrenching sobs. Panicking, Sidon smiled to reassure her that he meant no harm, but it was noticeably forced. The sharp teeth inches away from her face probably didn't help either.

"My lord," Brivere said, stepping towards the prince so that Sidon could actually hear him. "May I attempt to calm her down?"

Everyone’s head snapped to face the golden knight as they all threw their hands up to stop him from coming closer to the wailing girl.  “No!” they all yelled in unison, eyes wide in panic. Brivere arched his brow at all of them, bewildered.

Placing a hand on the golden knight's shoulder, Link shook his head. "Brivere, remember what I said earlier about how you’re kinda intimidating without meaning to?"

"I am well aware, but I am certain that even _I_ could handle a child." Brivere scowled, not helping his case.

"I apologize, Oracle Knight." Sidon said. "But Link is right. You do have quite the reputation for appearing threatening, and for a rather good reason." The prince arched his brow at Brivere. "After all, I had to calm Notus down when I found him crying in the training ring after a lesson with you."

"But my lord-!"

Prince Sidon shook his head more firmly. "If a soldier cannot handle your intimidating presence, I doubt a child can." Everyone else nodded in agreement, making Brivere grudgingly relent and retreat back to the doorway. Link chuckled and patted the golden knight on the back while Sidon shot him an apologetic look. Brivere didn't help his own argument when he unintentionally glared back, making everyone else in the room flinch.

A sudden gut wrenching scream burst out of the little girl, making everyone's attention snap back to the child. Prince Sidon and the other guards tried everything to calm the girl down, ranging from forced, wide smiles to words of encouragement. This only made her cry harder, since they all crowded around her and barely left enough space to breathe, but no one actually realized this due to their inexperience with children.

As time went on, they all started dropping their dignity for the sake of trying to get the child to calm down, resorting to making ridiculous faces or trying to make funny, but actually cringey, comedy skits, unconvincingly laughing along to make her cheer up. Nothing worked, and for over half an hour she continued to harshly bawl, and eventually everyone slowly stopped their fruitless efforts. They all stood back, trying to wait for her to tire out, and inwardly cringed, absolutely hating the fact that they were the so-called protectors of the Zora Domain and its citizens, yet were unable to even help a child. Brivere found this to be a good opportunity to speak up.

"My lord," the golden knight said loudly over the little girl's wailing. "I am serious. May I please attempt to calm her down now?"

Sidon recoiled and looked at Link, who shrugged in response. "I mean, it's not like he can scare her more than you already have." the Hylian said. Several guards also nodded, but everyone else seemed apprehensive about letting the emotionless knight handle an over-emotional child.

Sighing, the Prince got back up and nodded, gesturing at the crying girl. Brivere walked over and everyone quickly backed up, not wanting to be too close when the little girl would throw an even worse tantrum.

To no one's surprise, the golden knight didn't seem stressed or irritated in the slightest. Brivere wore his infamous indifferent mask as he gently knelt in front of the child, who continued to scream and cry as if she hadn't even noticed him.

"Little one, may you tell me what is wrong?" Brivere urged softly, trying to compress his body as to not appear threatening and to also come at eye level with the girl. She drew her face out of her hands and stared back at the golden knight with big, watery eyes before letting out a shriek and bawled again, even louder than before, which everyone thought was impossible.

Prince Sidon shook his head. "Oracle Knight, it is alright, we will figure something else out." he said loudly over the intense sobbing.

The prince flinched when Brivere glanced over his shoulder, staring at Sidon with unamused eyes. "With all due respect my lord, I wasn't quite done yet." the golden knight said curtly before turning back to the girl.

Brivere continued to crouch as he looked at the child fondly, which may have been strange to anyone else since her contorted, tear-covered face as she heavily sobbed and wailed was anything but cute. However, she reminded the golden knight of himself when he was younger, crying over everything, completely inconsolable with nothing in the world able to calm him down.

Except for one thing.

The golden knight softly hummed, letting familiar notes vibrate in his chest. Although it had been years, he could never forget any tune that his mother used to sing for him and Estuu. This particular one was his personal favorite.

Brivere continued to hum at a gradually increasing volume until the little girl's weeps started to subside, melting into hiccups and gasps for breath. When she stopped crying altogether and was quietly staring at him in a mix of admiration and confusion, the golden knight opened his mouth and let the soothing words to the song roll off of his tongue, filling the room with a gentle tune.

 

_The sea, the sea_

_It calls out to me_

_So blue, so true_

_It calls out for you too_

 

The little girl and everyone else in the room stared at the Oracle Knight in shock and awe for both his surprising singing talent and the fact that it actually managed to console the child.

 

_Please come with me_

_And we will visit the sea_

_Step by step, hand in hand,_

_We'll walk on the warm sand_

 

Brivere leaned in, continuing to sing as he lightly bumped his crest against the little girl's, making her close her eyes and quietly hum along, albeit a bit off key. His own voice was deep and velvety, a comforting rumbling noise that gave every word of his song life, making the very air around them feel like it was dancing to the special rhythm that Brivere provided.

 

_Let the sea wash away_

_All the troubles of yesterday_

_Please, float with me dear_

_As I hold you so near_

 

Instinctively, like a child wanting their mother, the little girl slowly held her arms out, but flinched and opened her eyes when she remembered that she couldn’t just ask for comfort from a complete stranger. However, Brivere obliged, gently scooping the little girl into his muscled arms as he slowly stood up, still singing.

 

_Gentle wave, gentle wave_

_Giving us comfort we crave,_

_My dear, There is no need to roam_

_For we are safe here, our home_

 

She nestled her chin into the crook of his shoulder, sniffling as she enjoyed the feeling of the vibrating notes ringing inside his broad chest. Meanwhile, Brivere lightly bounced her in his arms as he patted her small back, swaying his body to the beat of the song that he was singing.

Everyone else in the room stared incredulously at the usually reserved Oracle Knight cradling a previously distraught child. Link snorted a bit, noticing that Brivere seemed slightly embarrassed, due to the way he was clearly trying to avoid looking anyone in the eye.

Eventually, Brivere let the tune slowly come to an end, and held out his arms so that he could look the little girl in the eyes, which were noticeably absent of tears and replaced with childlike wonder.

"Little one, do you feel better now?" he asked gently.

She nodded vigorously, bouncing in his arms. "Yes! Thank you mister knight!"

"That is good, and it is no problem. I am merely glad to be of assistance." Brivere said as he shifted to set the girl down, but she whined and hugged tightly onto his arms instead. Sighing, he held the small child close again. "Alright, I understand, young one. However, as compensation, may you please tell me why you were so upset?"

The little girl nodded against his chest. "I got into a fight with my mommy and I ran away. But then I got lost, and my mommy always said that the guards are there to help, so I tried to ask one of them here but I got so scared!" She paused, and the golden knight felt her tremble in his arms. "I'm sorry mister Knight. I just made a big mess for everyone."

Moving her into one arm, Brivere used his free hand to wipe away the tears welling up in her eyes. "Nonsense, child, there is no need to apologize. Your mother is right, the guard are here to help you."

He turned to Prince Sidon, who was still gawking at him with wide eyes, along with all of the other guards in the room. "My lord," Brivere said softly, trying not to startle the girl, "I do believe that the best course of action is to have several soldiers go around and ask if anyone is missing a child."

It took a few moments for Sidon to snap out of his daze and straighten up. "R-right..." he said, still trying to process what he just saw. The prince turned to the other guards, who were also attempting to get over their shock. "Attention!" Prince Sidon called out, making all of the soldiers jolt and stand at attention. "All guards currently not on wall duty are to search the streets for any mother missing a little girl."

Brivere looked down at the little girl, holding comfortable eye contact. "Young one, what does your mother look like?"

She hummed, trying to come up with the best answer. "My mommy is a little shorter than you, and she's got shiny black scales, and doesn't wear any jewelry except for a necklace my daddy gave her." Her eyes lit up as she bounced in his arms. "She's also very pretty!"

"Yes, she sounds beautiful, just like you.” the golden knight chuckled as he nodded. “Now, what is your name?"

The little girl giggled at the compliment. "My name is Dalila! But my mommy calls me Lila!"

"That is a very lovely name. You may call me Brivere." he replied before repeating her information to the prince, who in turn relayed it to the guards. All of them saluted in response before dispersing, leaving no one in the room but Sidon, Link, Brivere, and Dalila.

The little girl looked up at the golden knight with wide eyes. "Are you gonna search too, mister knight?"

"That depends.” Brivere hummed. “It is really up to my Lord, the prince."

Dalila squirmed in his arms until she could face Prince Sidon. The prince almost burst out laughing at the way her face adorably contorted as she glared at him. "I wanna stay with my knight!" she cried out, clinging onto the golden knight for dear life, as if afraid that someone was going to rip her away from the only source of comfort in the cold barracks.

"Do not worry young one, I had no intention of separating the two of you." Sidon chuckled. "It would be best if we just stayed put, to make the reunion with your mother easier." With that, he turned and began talking to Link, allowing Dalia to spend time with the golden knight uninterrupted.

Brivere noticed the way the little girl suddenly tensed in his arms. "Little one, is there something wrong?" he asked, looking down at her. "I thought you desired to see your mother again?"

She hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, but.... it's my fault!" Dalilia wailed. "I got mad at her because she wouldn't let me play with my friends, but that's cause I didn't do my homework, and now I made a big problem and she must be worried and m-mad, and-!" The little girl suddenly stopped rambling, trying to catch her breath.

Humming, Brivere gently rocked her in his arms, trying to calm her down before she started crying again. "I do not believe that you have much reason to worry, Lila." he said softly. "Your mother will be so overwhelmed with relief that she will completely forget about your previous fight."

Dalila grabbed onto one of his long fore fins and tugged, making Brivere look into her intense golden eyes. "Promise?" she asked firmly.

He nodded. "I promise."

Satisfied, she let go, but the golden knight sensed something else bothering her. "Is there another thing you would like to ask me?" he questioned.

Dalila paused for a few moments before hesitantly nodding. "Y-yeah... can you sing for me again?"

She was startled by the way Brivere stiffened, raising his brow. "N-no! You don't have to if you don't wanna! I'm sorry!" Dalila cried, waving her arms around.

The golden knight shook his head. "Ah, I apologize. It is not that, child. I would be glad to, I was just surprised that you wished to hear me sing again."

Link spoke up, apparently eavesdropping on their conversation the whole time. "Brivere, of course she would!" the Hylian laughed. "You’re an amazing singer, whether or not you'll actually admit it."

Nodding, the prince said, "Yes, Brivere, even in all of the time I have known you, I was never aware of such a talent." Sidon teasingly raised his brow. "Is there a reason for such secrecy?"

Brivere flushed, tilting his head away from his lovers. "No particular reason, my Lord."

"Is it because you're embarrassed about it?" Link purred, sauntering up to the golden knight with a shit eating grin. The lack of response from Brivere gave away his true answer, making the Hylian shriek with laughter.

Dalila squirmed to get Brivere's attention. "You shouldn't be embarrassed!" she pouted. "You're really super good! Where’d you learn to sing so great?"

The golden knight hesitated before sighing. "My mother was a songstress." Brivere said quietly, eyes growing distant. Sidon and Link looked over at him in concern, but were relieved to see that the golden knight looked content, clearly thinking upon a fond memory. "Perhaps I am embarrassed about my own talents because it is nothing compared to hers. She was amazing, it was as if her voice alone could calm any beast, and perhaps even the Calamity itself." A small, rare smile slipped onto his face. "My mother would sing all the time. It was the solution to any problem: boredom, sadness, celebration, anything. She could fix it all with a simple song that could move anyone's soul."

Dalila gazed up at him in awe. "She sounds amazing!" the little girl cheered. "Can I hear her sing someday?!"

Brivere caught the way his two lovers flinched, opening their mouths to explain the truth to the naïve child. Shaking his head at them, he looked back down at Dalila with a serene smile. "I am afraid not, which is a shame. I would do anything to give you the opportunity. But I do hope that you will find me to be a good substitute in the meantime?"

She excitedly nodded. "Of course! You're the bestest ever! Can you sing a song now?!"

The golden knight chuckled, bobbing his head up and down as he cleared his throat. Brivere picked a different, more upbeat song this time, remembering that his mother often sang it when they were doing chores in order to make it more enjoyable.

 

_Dance dance dance,_

_Praise the goddess up above!_

_It's our last chance,_

_Please, Move with me, love!_

 

Dalila relaxed in the golden knight's arms while his lovers fondly gazed at him, also enjoying the melody from his soothing voice. Whether or not he was aware of it, Brivere looked extremely happy and content when he sang, most likely reliving those times when his mother sang him and Estuu the same songs. Eventually he got lost in the memories, closing his eyes and singing louder and more confidently, not caring enough to hold back anymore. He gently swayed to the beat, cleanly switching between songs out of habit, just like his mother used to.

None of the four in the room had any idea how much time had passed, as all of them were completely engrossed in the notes that filled the air, settling into the comfortable atmosphere. They only snapped out of it when Brivere's voice faltered as he noticed footsteps approaching them from behind.

"LILA!" a Zora woman cried out, darting past the guards who were accompanying her.

The little girl perked up and snapped her head towards the entryway. "MOMMY!" She screamed, flailing around in Brivere's arms. Not wanting to drop her, the golden knight quickly set her down. The second her tiny feet touched the floor, Dalila rocketed away from him and shot into the arms of her mother. The woman fell onto her knees, clutching her daughter to her body, as if afraid that if she let go then the little girl would disappear again.

"Mommy I'm so sorry!" Dalila sobbed. The woman shook her head, laughing through her own tears. "No, no Lila! It's okay, sea angel, I'm just so relieved that you're safe!"

Everyone else smiled at the scene. Well, more like the golden knight smiled inwardly, as he had donned on his emotionless mask again out of habit. The tears from the mother and daughter clearly weren't of distress or sadness, so there was no need to console them or interrupt the touching reunion. Everyone present was reminded why they had joined the Zora guard in the first place, in order to protect their citizen's happiness.

Eventually, the sobs slowly died down, and the mother sniffled while looking at everyone with watery eyes and a wide grin. "T-thank you all so much, you have no idea how worried I was! Dalila always runs off, but this has to be the furthest she has gone!" She bowed her head, still clutching Dalila to her chest. "I apologize for the trouble we have caused."

Prince Sidon shook his head, along with everyone else. "Mam, it is quite alright, it was no trouble at all." Sidon’s famous grin stretched across his face as he gestured at Brivere, who raised his brow at the prince. "Although, I must say, you should really thank my Oracle Knight. None of us were able to calm down your daughter enough for her to tell us what was wrong until Brivere soothed her."

The mother whipped her head over to Brivere, tears spilling out of her eyes. "Oh my dear Hylia, thank you so much! You have no idea how grateful I am for it, my daughter gets anxiety attacks very easily so it is difficult for her to handle such stressful situations."

"It is quite alright mam, absolutely no trouble at all." Brivere said. "I am simply thankful that both of you weren’t hurt and quickly found each other again."

"Nonetheless, I am forever grateful to you." the mother said. After a pause, she shyly spoke up again. "Sir Knight, may you please tell me how you calmed her down?"

The golden Zora raised his brow at her. "Does this sort of thing happen often?"

"Actually, yes." the mother admitted as she stood up, her daughter still cradled in her tight embrace. "Dalila has really bad anxiety attacks, as I mentioned before. I'm sure you saw the way she cried and sobbed earlier. It may appear like just  another tantrum, but she can get so frightened and overwhelmed that it breaks my heart to see her like that."

She turned to her daughter, lightly rocking the little girl in her arms. "I never know what to do, and even _I_ can't manage to calm her down. Usually I just hover around and ride it out with her. It's very upsetting, to be a mother that can't even take care of her own child."

Brivere shook his head. "Nonsense, my lady. I can tell that you care plenty enough, and Dalila cares for you too." He hesitated for a moment, but then gently laughed, startling everyone in the room except for Dalila and her mother. "Admittedly, I was able to calm her down because she reminded me of myself when I was younger. I used to cry about everything, and my mother would always sing to calm me down."

The mother perked up at this. "Ah, yes, I heard you singing from down the hall when I was escorted here! It is no surprise then that it calmed my daughter down, you really have such a beautiful voice."

"Thank you, mam." Brivere replied, slightly blushing.

Both of them awkwardly shifted in place until the mother hesitantly held eye contact with him. "I do apologize for asking this of you... but is there any way that you can teach me how to sing like that?"

She frantically took her request back when Brivere visibly flinched out of surprise, and he inwardly laughed at how similar she was to her daughter. "N-no! You don’t have to, I’m sorry! Of course, you are the Oracle Knight, and you must be so busy!" the mother babbled. "I just... admittedly, I do not have the best singing voice. I never cared enough to actually participate in choir at school."

Her eyes suddenly hardened as she stared at Brivere with determination blazing in those golden hues. "But I am willing to do anything to help my precious sea angel."

Brivere hesitated and looked at Prince Sidon, who laughed. "You definitely have my approval, Brivere." the prince said, his signature grin stretched across his face. "Anything to help our Domain's citizens. But ultimately, the choice falls onto you, whether or not you are comfortable doing so."

The golden knight nodded, looking back at the desperate mother who was cradling her child in her arms. Brivere’s eyes softened, seeing his own mother embracing him, wanting to protect him from anything, willing to _do_ anything to accomplish this.

Brivere let a rare smile grace his usually emotionless features. "I would be honored to teach you, mam." he said, fondly gazing at Dalila, feeling his heart soar when she grinned back.

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of my own experiences with anxiety and a similar situation  
> I've always fuckin loved the trope of hardened people who soften up around children, because that is ME  
> I FUCKIN LOVE KIDS THEYRE SO CUTE AND STUFF  
> I've also always had the headcanon that Brivere likes kids, cause of Estuu, and also because they're too young to know about his past and too innocent to judge or insult him for it.  
> Also have the headcanon that he's an amazing singer like his mom, and loves doing it because it's a fun hobby that reminds him of her, but doesn't actually show it because he's a bit emberassed


End file.
